Slip and fall accidents caused by slippery, smooth floor surfaces are very prevalent and often result in serious injury. The inherent slipperiness of a smooth floor surface is often aggravated by the wide spread use of various transparent, shiny coatings which are applied to protect the surfaces and to make them more aesthetically pleasing. In addition, smooth floor surfaces become particularly slippery and treacherous when they become wet or otherwise contaminated with liquids, food, debris, etc.
An excellent example of the problem of slippery floor surfaces can be found in the supermarket industry. The floors in supermarkets are conventionally composed of vinyl composition tiles coated with transparent, shiny acrylic floor coatings to provide a good cleanliness impression to customers. According to Food Marketing Institute statistics, customer slips and falls accounted for 52.3% of customer accidents during the period of 1985 to 1989.
Another example of the problem of slippery floors can be found in the work areas of supermarkets and allied distribution and processing facilities. Typically, these work areas have floors made of smooth-finished concrete which may be coated with slippery, non-aqueous solvent based urethane or epoxy sealers. Statistics for the time period of 1985 to 1989 show that slips and falls were also very numerous in these areas and accounted for approximately 11 to 16% of employee injuries. More specifically, the percentages of total injuries in these work areas due to slips and falls were as follows:
______________________________________ stores 11.9% distribution centers 11.4% bakeries 16.1% meat processing 13.7% ______________________________________
Despite the clear problem of slippery floor surfaces, the prior art has failed to address and solve the problem of providing an effective anti-slip coating to a floor while still maintaining a transparent, shiny and "wet-look" floor appearance. The need for an effective anti-slip floor coating solution that will not alter the bright and shiny look of a grocery store or other retail floor, for example, cannot be overstated. In order for such an anti-slip coating to be accepted by certain industries and institutions, it is absolutely essential that the anti-slip coating be applied to a floor in such a fashion that the overall appearance, especially the shiny, transparent and "wet-look", of the floor is not altered. There have been attempts in the prior art to reduce the slipperiness of a smooth floor by applying natural wax compositions to the floor surface to form a slip-resistant coating. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,597,871 issued to Iler and U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,925 issued to Kesslin et al. disclose coating compositions designed to reduce the slipperiness of a floor surface by incorporating additives such as C10-C20 aliphatic formates, feldspar, clay, or colloidal silica into natural wax emulsion polishes. These prior art approaches to the problem of slippery floors are not effective because they only improve slip-resistance under dry conditions. More specifically, the particles in coatings of the prior art are much too small to provide effective slip-resistance when the floor becomes wet or contaminated. Accordingly, the problem of floors becoming slippery when the floor surface becomes wet or contaminated continues to be a problem. In addition, many of the additive particles such as feldspar and clay adversely affect essential characteristics of a floor coating such as transparency, apparent smoothness, shine, and impression of cleanliness by customers.
There is a need for a water-based floor coating composition that when applied to a floor results in a shiny, transparent, slip-resistant, coating. The anti-slip floor coating should have the qualities of being aesthetically pleasing and easy and safe to apply, maintain and remove. Finally, the slip-resistant coating should be effective for a wide variety of shoe-bottom materials and designs, as well as other floor engaging objects that require traction.